Chapter Trials
This page details the trials & tests that an Aspirant of the Ghosts of Retribution must overcome to earn their place as one of the God-Emperor's Astartes. Overview The Adeptus Astartes are an exceptionally elite force, as a single chapter of 1,000 Space Marines is expected to be sufficient to protect a population of hundreds of billions or more. Due to the practically inexhaustible supply of manpower available to the Imperium and the relative scarcity of geneseed, Astartes chapters only take the very best of the best of the best aspirants into their ranks. While 'best' is somewhat ambiguous all chapters agree that only the most physically capable humans should be permitted into their ranks. Most chapters level other desired characteristics upon their aspirants as well, but they can vary. In order to learn which aspirants possess the required characteristics, every chapter has a unique series of trials they must overcome. Because physical capability is the primary desired characteristic astartes chapters usually prefer to recruit from death worlds and/or feral worlds, as these environments breed exceptionally tough humans (the mental shortcomings of feral worlders are eventually 'cured' by indoctrination therapy, mostly). Some chapters also recruit from hive worlds, where the savage criminality and poisonous environment of the underhives create capable aspirants. Civilised worlds are least popular to recruit from as they tend to produce the 'softest' humans, along with an abhorence towards the more savage trialling methods. But several chapters find that civilised aspirants bring their own benefits such as a superior grasp of tactical indoctrination, better cooperation with allied forces and stronger discipline. Nevertheless the increased difficulty in recruiting from civilised worlds and the distinctly lower yield in physically capable aspirants leaves them as generally undesirable. Typically Astartes chapter aspirants are 12-13 years old as this is the optimum age to begin the implantations (as seen on Chapter Genetics). However due to local necessities or circumstances older aspirants may be accepted (though their chance of successful implantation drops dramatically). Astartes aspirant trials are infamous for their colossal failure rate as well as lethality, with potentially tens of thousands of aspirants resulting in a mere dozen astartes and possibly hundreds of deaths. The ratio of success/failure/death varies extremely by chapter, for example the savage feral world bloodtrials of the Blood Angels ranks amongst the most dangerous, whereas the Ultramarines recruit from relatively safe training academies in their civilised realm of Ultramar. In many cases failure in the aspirant trials still results in the aspirant in question being ascended to Chapter Serfdom, an honour earned by the exceptional effort & ability required to get as far as they did. Trials of the Ghosts of Retribution The Ghosts of Retribution recruit almost solely from the icy death world of Mormark. Mormark itself has three potential sources of capable aspirants: The first is the underhives of the hive city of Kanihirium. Kanihirium houses the majority of the planet's population in (relative) comfort, free from the brutal weather conditions that ravage the planet. However the underhives are full of ancient crumbling infrastructure and slums. Here criminal gangs rule and mutants run rife, it is a place where only the strongest thrive. Marines of the Ghosts of Retribution regularly patrol the spires, upper hives & middle hives of Kanihirium as it is the capital of their homeworld, periodically however they will descend into the underhives in search of any tough youths that have managed to carve a place in the criminal underground despite their young age. Whether they come freely or must be taken by force, these youths are brought to the Tombstone - the Fortress-Monastery of the Ghosts of Retribution - should they prove compatible when genetically tested. The second source of aspirants (and by far the largest) is the Mormarkian wilderness. Though most of the population of Mormark lives in Kanihirium there are over twenty million souls who live in the minor cities, exposed to the punishing conditions of ice storms and the predation of feral Gnars and other local creatures. These cities & settlements genetically test every boy and all 12 year olds with compatible genomes are taken by the Ghosts of Retribution to the Tombstone. The third source is children of Chapter Serfs. Serf children are already fit, healthy and well-disciplined, so any that have a compatible genome are welcome aspirants. When they turn 12 they are grouped with boys from the other sources and become aspirants. The aspirants (of which there are many thousands at any one time) are trained & monitored by Astartes and Chapter Serfs. This brings them all to a good level of fitness & obedience before they undergo their trials. A good proportion of aspirants are weeded out even at this early phase, as they exhibit discipline problems or physical shortcomings. Furthermore the aspirants perform many of the most unpleasant serf duties around the Tombstone such as cleaning & plumbing work in order to teach them a sense of humility, and any complaints from the aspirants are a serious black mark against them. Aspirants who fail at this phase are unceremoniously ejected back to where they came from. After a year of training the aspirants undergo their first trial: 'Trial 1: The Ascent' The are dumped at the base of a perilously steep & icy rock face deep within the Great White Mountain Range. At the top of the rock face is an entrance back to the Tombstone. With no tools at their disposal the aspirants must ascend the rock face by their own ability & determination alone, all the while braving freezing razorhail blizzards and knife-sharp ice protrusions that can tear a clambering hand to ribbons. The rock face is punctuated with small outcrops at various intervals, and from these outcrops Space Marines watch over the aspirants as they attempt their climb. Though ostensibly there to ensure no cheating occurs, the marines tend to end up spending most of their time carrying unconscious aspirants (now failed aspirants) back down to the shuttles before they die of exposure. Meanwhile the aspirants that make it to the top are congratulated and allowed inside into the warmth of the Tombstone. The ascent is a simple test designed to weed out those that lack either the physical endurance or determination to overcome a difficult yet possible challenge. Typically at least half of the aspirants fail the ascent, quickly & effectively refining the pool of potential astartes. The sizeable snowdrifts at the base of the rock face as well as the diligent astartes minimise casualties but a fair percentage of the aspirants (failed or not) suffer broken limbs and/or frostbite during their ascent, however high-quality medical aid is usually quickly administered. Despite these measures fatalities are not unheard of, as an unfortunate aspirant can crack his head against a rocky protrusion before they land on the snowdrifts should they lose their grip during the climb. 'Trial 2: The Soulgazing' This trial is designed to expose any weakness in mental or spiritual fortitude. Every aspirant will undergo a full psychic test of purity. This can be administered by a chapter Librarian but is more often conducted by one of the chapter's many mortal psyker servants under the oversight of a space marine. The psyker will probe the aspirant's mind, exploring every vestige of his soul and searching for the tiniest seeds of corruption or weakness. The purpose of this test is twofold. Firstly it discovers any aspirants that hold deep-seated issues that would be greatly undesired in an astartes. Secondly it screens out any aspirant who lacks the mental fortitude required to endure a psychic intrusion. Whether they pass or fail the endurance is up to the overseeing astartes. Strong candidates will take the intrusion stoically, whereas failed aspirants typically end up curled on the floor, blubbering and begging for relief. It is also at this stage that any aspirants with a latent psychic ability are discovered. They will immediately be transferred into Librarian training which is handled by the Librarium - typically the Librarium's trials are just as rigorous as the standard trials with the addition of psychic training. As long as an aspirant proves his purity in the soulgazing he is guaranteed a place among the chapter serfs, even if he failed to maintain his mental fortitude through the ordeal. 'Trial 3: The Punishment' Every aspirant is pitched in unarmed, unarmoured, one-on-one combat against an astartes of the chapter. For obvious reasons the aspirant has practically no chance of besting his opponent, in fact the astartes will be fighting at far below his true potential to avoid killing the aspirant. However the astartes does not hesitate to inflict brutal damage on the aspirant, cracking bones with single punches and hurling them metres across the training room. However the aspirants are told that their goal is to defeat the astartes, but are free to give up at any point and end the fight. It rarely takes an aspirant long to realise his task is an impossible one. The purpose of this test is to find those few aspirants who are willing to die in the pursuit of their goal. The astartes trainer will cause them as much pain as possible and block their furious counter-attacks with contemptuous ease. The aspirant's morale and fortitude is obliterated punch by punch as they stare death in the face. Only the strongest and most fearless or stubborn aspirants endure long enough for the astartes trainer to let them pass, most others reaching a point of hopelessness and giving in. Whether successful or not the bloody & battered aspirants will be taken to medcae before moving on, either to the next trial or to chapter serfdom. 'Trial 4: The Room' After recovering from The Punishment along with another year of training and genetic implantations the remaining aspirants are led down to the Catacombs. The Catacombs lie beneath the Tombstone, and is an ancient winding series of tunnels over 20,000 years-old creeping into the crust of Mormark. The aspirants are brought to a hallway with a solitary metal door leading to a decaying room. The only instruction the aspirants are given is to pass through the room before they are pushed quickly through the threshold and the door slammed and locked behind them. They find themselves in a dimly-lit 10x10m stonewalled room of basalt, with ancient roots and vines dangling from the earthen ceiling. In the opposite wall is another locked metal door and standing in front of it is a bare astartes with the key around his neck. Swiftly the astartes will immediately move to shock the aspirant with a lunge, and though he will refrain from doing severe damage he will not hesitate to inflict severe pain. Aspirants who succumb to panic and fail to keep a clear head will react by attempting to take the key from the astartes, a challenge they will likely never succeed in. The very exceptionally few aspirants that ever manage to swiftly and cleverly steal away the key from the Astartes Warrior have achieved a marvelous feat of courage, agility and honor. When the key is in the surely hands of the Aspirant the Astartes will himself open the door for him as a sign of respect and honor for they have nigh on guaranteed their place as a Brother in the Chapter. These exceptional few are marked for great and marvelous careers (and on occasion short), rarely has this proven to be untrue. Those who keep calm and yet seek to escape knowing they are likely doomed will notice that in the top-right corner of the opposite wall the dangling roots and vines sway unnaturally, betraying the presence of a hole in the wall large enough to accommodate an aspirant. By evading the astartes and swiftly scaling the jagged stone walls they can squeeze through the room via the hole. Arriving to find Astartes Brothers congratulating them on passing yet another Trial. Only aspirants with exceptional perception & agility as well as the ability to remain calm under pressure will pass this trial, and those who fail are inducted into serfdom. 'Trial 5: The Ghost' By this point in the trials thousands of aspirants will have been weeded down to a scant handful of remnants, the rest either being returned to society or inducted into Chapter Serfdom. The few that remain are the most exceptional examples of human physicality, purity & determination possible, but there is still one last quality they must display: The will to accept certain death in the pursuit of their duty. The remaining aspirants will be woken in the middle of the night, and told that the Tombstone is under attack by the dark powers. The aspirants will be seperated and individually assigned to guard isolated relic rooms in the darkest depths of the Tombstone, while the Astartes repel the 'attack'. As the lone aspirant guards his room he will begin to hear the most awful, terrifying sounds echoing through the corridors. Sounds of approaching evil and slaughter. Dreaded winds will howl through, and the temperature will quickly plunge to subzero and keep dropping. Some of the aspirants choose to leave their posts, seeking out safety rather than freeze to death in terror at their posts. The others maintain their assigned post, standing guard against the approaching evil until the last icy breath leaves their lungs and they collapse dead. At the moment either of these things happen it is revealed that the entire attack is a fabrication designed to test the aspirants resolve. Those who abandoned their charge in favour of life are inducted into Chapter Serfdom. Those who did their duty unto death are quickly revived by Apothecaries and become true Ghosts, for they have proven that they will do their duty to their certain death, and have returned from that death. This is the final of the aspirant trials, and the few aspirants that have passed them all are taken to the Apothecarion to begin the arduous years of augmentation and scout training. PAGE IN PROGRESS